N3 AvantGrand Hybrid Piano
Topics
October 7, 2010
AvantGrand was reviewed on Keyboard Magazine's web site.
“Keyboard Magazine” tried AvantGrand, and they updated a review on their web site.
Please check it out!
May 11, 2010
YAMAHA AVANTGRAND ACCOMPANIES MARC ALMOND ON 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Yamaha's extraordinary new AvantGrand 'Hybrid' piano is taking centre stage on the multifaceted Marc Almond's 30th Anniversary European tour that includes 20 UK dates.
Almond, who is celebrating a 30 year career during which he has sold 30 million records, is relying on an N3 AvantGrand for accompaniment, played by his long-term pianist and musical arranger Martin Watkins.
Many people know Marc Almond because of his band, Soft Cell, whose hits such as Tainted Love or Say Hello, Wave Goodbye conquered the charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, Almond is also a very successful solo performer with ten solo albums to his credit and during the course of his career has collaborated with many renowned artists and bands such as Nick Cave, Bronski Beat, Matt Johnson and Jools Holland, proving his musical versatility time and again. Marc is currently working on Variete, his eleventh studio album.
As well as being admired and played by some of the worlds most respected and acclaimed classical, jazz and contemporary piano artists, Yamaha's AvantGrand hybrid pianos are increasingly becoming the choice of renowned piano accompanists like Martin Watkins who stated, “The AvantGrand has an amazingly natural feel. The keys and pedals give precise feedback to the person playing, which sets the stage for an emotional, versatile and lively playing experience like a large grand piano would deliver.”
January 20, 2010
TOP ARTISTS PRAISE WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCES OF
YAMAHA'S NEW AVANTGRAND 'HYBRID' PIANO
A trio of internationally respected and acclaimed musicians from contrasting musical fields have embraced the remarkable musical performance capabilities of Yamaha's new AvantGrand hybrid pianos.
Artur Pizarro, one of the world's most highly renowned concert pianists is joined by jazz legend, composer and bandleader Julian Joseph and Paul Carrack, one of the UK's most popular musicians, in endorsing the musicality and versatility of the instrument.
Paul Carrack, who is currently touring the UK to sell-out audiences promoting his new album I Know That Name selected the AvantGrand N2 for all his live shows, whilst Julian Joseph requested an N3 both for the world launch of his Shadowball Opera in November, and for his recent Samuel Coleridge Taylor recitals at the British Library.
Launched earlier this year to huge enthusiasm from media, piano professionals, musicians and the European Piano Teachers Association, the extraordinary new hybrid instrument opened a new chapter in piano development and design and marked a new era in the history of the traditional pianoforte.
The hybrid nature of the piano is a result of combining a traditional concert grand piano keyboard action – complete with hammers – with some of the world's most advanced sampling technology, developed specially for the AvantGrand.
Paul Carrack, one of the UK's most critically acclaimed popular musicians and vocalists expands on his passion for the instrument, "At last, a touring piano that feels like a real instrument! Leaving aside the wonderful deep, rich sound, the AvantGrand has an incredible touch response that actually feels like an acoustic instrument. It's excellent in all respects and absolutely not a compromise option – as would be the case with a standard digital piano. It really is superb."
All three artists are keen to point out that, in their professional opinion, the AvantGrand is the first non-acoustic instrument to create a physical and emotional relationship with the player, offering a true acoustic piano experience. The newly developed tactile Response System transmits 'string' vibrations through the keyboard action to the player's hands. To a serious and accomplished pianist, feeling these vibrations is integral to the playing process.
Julian Joseph comments, “The AvantGrand is a new type of piano, designed to provide a high quality instrument that works well in an essentially acoustic environment. The keyboard action is even and weighted exactly like an acoustic piano, and it's an instrument one can work with confidently to achieve a smooth transition to the concert grand in any situation. Of course, I still love the acoustic piano, but the AvantGrand, with its hybrid of acoustic and digital technologies, is a new genre of piano; it's an instrument sensitive to the musician. Yamaha are innovating and getting it right!”
In addition to the keyboard action, the AvantGrand offers highly detailed and accurate sound, made possible by Yamaha's proprietary and highly advanced sampling capability. This is matched by the superb four-channel, three-way spatial acoustic speaker system, complimented by two sound board resonators that exactly duplicate the non-directional sound dispersion felt and heard by concert pianists.
Artur Pizarro comments on his experience of the AvantGrand " How would you shrink a concert grand piano to fit the space of your average living room?,Design an AvantGrand. How would you recreate the touch and tone quality of a concert grand piano in a baby grand sized piano? Build an AvantGrand. Where do you find a piano that is always in tune and doesn't change tone quality? An AvantGrand. How do you practise on a concert grand quality instrument without bothering your neighbours? Play an AvantGrand and a good pair of headphones! ..
